‘ What Sinn Fein Actually Stands For’ by Donal Lavery

Some of you may have read the article written by one Jessica McGrann concerning her opinion on what she thinks Sinn Fein should stand for. As flawed as it is grammatically, the economic side of things is no pleasantry either, of which more later. It flowed from a written “battle of ideas” on what Irish republicanism ought to be about in this day and age, even though she stated she has never read a Sinn Fein manifesto before  and has never been a party member; relying on gut instinct over facts. I will lay out my stall and allow you to judge who has a clearer grasp of the hearts and minds of ordinary republicans, and also who articulates better the conscience of the Irish people.

Ms. McGrann has said previously that she believes Sinn Fein should drop their left wing policies, namely the ownership of Ireland for the people of Ireland, and adopt the same centrist approach of Fianna Fáil – that is, privatising state assets and being devoid of any economic ideology either way. Margaret Thatcher once said that those stuck in the centre “get knocked down by the traffic from the Left and the Right”; which is exactly what has happened to the Irish Labour Party and SDLP. Yes, Ms. McGrann, in all her thought-out capacity thinks that becoming more or less like all the establishment parties on the island would be a constructive move, worth sacrificing decades of mass struggle for – to have office, but no real power.

She also has advocated, in all her wisdom, for the state to own hospital buildings but to replace public healthcare workers with private sector agencies, totally ignorant of the fact that it costs more to do that and many Doctors would not work under those terms and conditions. PFI in the health sector and private markets within the provision of healthcare has led to some of the worst cleanliness crises our hospitals have ever witnessed, including serious staff shortages. Everything from the strength of bleach to nurse’s hours have been commodified to make a rotten profit at the expense of standards. It is questionable whether someone who calls themselves a republican should deem such a move desirable. I on the other hand am a patriot, I want the best healthcare system in the world for all my fellow citizens – owned by them and free at the point of need for them; paid for via general taxation. Just like the NHS used to be in the 1960’s, when Matrons ensured high quality and an ethos of care over money prevailed. That is the actual Sinn Fein policy.

On the economy, Ms. McGrann went on to criticise the Sinn Fein perspective that the public should own certain public utilities and big businesses, which they have a direct interest in. Devoid of the fact that the state already intervenes in owning business via NAMA. Again, my view is that if the taxpayer is being used to cover the liabilities of banks and failed businesses, then it should also benefit from owning certain key enterprises and their profits – which can be used to fund better public services. Is this not also what the men and women of 1916 desired?

Let me say to Ms. McGrann, who can’t seem to decide whether she is on the Left or the Right of the spectrum, that the Labour Party may talk of their links with the trade unions; but the purpose of an Irish Republican Party must be to function as the biggest trade union for this country and every single part of it. She seems to think that a political party can be for both the workers’ interests and the bosses’ interests – these are two separate agendas, with different class circumstances and requiring very different regulations. So that is another paradox therein. But we live in a democracy, and there are more workers than bosses, so it would be electoral suicide to not back the interests of the workers.

Ms. McGrann thinks that the state should not intervene in business or markets, uttering sentiments that would make the Irish Independent blush. To which I have queried – So we should just end the minimum wage then? We should dismantle the NHS? We should police ourselves? We should allow private individuals to build our infrastructure via charity? Could business get access to credit without the state? Would people have schools and universities to attend as a right as opposed to a commodity? I could go on, but one thing it proves, which others have commented, is that such people don’t have a clue how the economy actually works. These class warriors seem to believe that public is bad and private is good; knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing.

Here’s what I would do – the minimum wage would be raised to double its current level, which would allow for workers to spend their increased wages on goods and services in the public and private sector – generating more revenue for state spending. Capital gains tax would be increased to improve our pension levels. Corporation tax would remain at its current level in a united Ireland but progressive levels of tax would be imposed on the highest earning individuals. See all the student debt people have acquired and the negative equity hanging over people’s heads? It should and will eventually be erased to enhance the purchasing power of each person – who will then spend their money on other goods and services; creating more jobs to deliver them. We need our own currency back to devalue as a means of spending what levels of money we see fit as opposed to those restraints imposed on us by bureaucrats in Brussels who we do not elect and cannot remove.

I believe that giving up values and the equality objectives of mass struggle, which Irish men and women fought and died for, just to get into government in Dublin is never worth it. It would be office without power for you emulate the same economic consensus as all the failed and parasitical establishment parties on the island; only to be executed at the next general election . Britain might as well reconquer Ireland in that case as it would rule us via its financiers and institutions, as Connolly prophesied. And this country, which built its strength on the education and intelligence of its workforce, would bleed to death on the altar of deregulation and monetarism.

Now, who is truly more in tune with the values of Irish people and the needs of our population? Who actually understands the economy, including Keynesian planning, to ensure you have the peace and quiet to live your own life?